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A PRIVATE COLLECTION OF JEAN MAYODON CERAMICS
One of the foremost French Art Deco ceramicists, Jean Mayodon was initially trained as an interior decorator and painter but by the age of twenty had turned to ceramics. Setting up a workshop in his hometown of Sèvres, Mayodon quickly gained recognition. He presented his ceramics for the first time in 1919 at the Musée Galliera which led to a solo exhibition two years later. He collaborated with Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann at the extraordinarily influential 1925 World's Fair in Paris, the Exposition International des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Moderne and his work was also included in the Parisian Salons des Artistes Décorateurs of 1928 and 1932, a primary forum for young designers. Throughout his successful career Mayodon participated in numerous international exhibitions.
So celebrated were Mayodon's ceramics that from 1934-39 he served as an artistic adviser at the foremost porcelain company, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres and from 1941-42 was the artistic director. In addition to Ruhlmann, he collaborated with other preeminent designers and architects of the day including, Eugene Printz, Jules Leleu, and Raymond Subes. In addition to his well-known urns and plates, he also produced large-scale pieces such as decorative panels, sculptures, and fountains and while at Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, created tiles for the opulent first class swimming pool and room aboard the Normandie cruise liner. Mayodon was asked by Dominique's Andre Domin and Marcel Geneviére for designs for the bathroom of their luxurious 'Rouen' suite on Normandie.
Mayodon's work is distinguished by the richness of its striking colors, its pervasive gold crackling and the exquisite quality of the painterly figurative illustrations of his nudes and stylized animals. Drawing on Mediterranean based mythologies, winsome antelopes, centaurs, mermen and other, often entwined, mythological creatures joyously circle his lustrous objects. The endless variety of his vessels is inspired by many traditions of classical antiquity; Ancient Greece, Persia and Etruscan works, as well as Chinese and Japanese forms. His characteristically vivid colors result from his "low temp" technique: he fired his glazes, which incorporated metal oxides, up to six times, reglazing with each firing. Thus he attained the deep and vibrant hues such as the remarkable incarnadine of the rounded bowl with its fiery red circular pendants and the verdant pair of smaller bowls.
Abounding with exceptional signature Mayodon ceramics, this striking collection includes a stunning rich orange/red vase encircled by muscular male figures and a centaur in black - clearly invoking the black figure vases of Ancient Greece. Also notable is a delicate vase with a round base, tapering neck and fluted top decorated with black antelopes amongst bright teal green leaves that was clearly inspired by a Persian model.
JEAN MAYODON (1893-1967)
A FOOTED VASE, CIRCA 1960
Details
JEAN MAYODON (1893-1967)
A FOOTED VASE, CIRCA 1960
executed by Sèvres, glazed ceramic
8 in. (20.3 cm.) high
marked in gilt M Sèvres
A FOOTED VASE, CIRCA 1960
executed by Sèvres, glazed ceramic
8 in. (20.3 cm.) high
marked in gilt M Sèvres
Literature
G. Landrot, Mayodon, Madrid, 2004, pp. 242-243, no. 430.
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